U.S. picks Nathan Chen for team event short program in PyeongChang

Two-time U.S. national champion Nathan Chen will skate the short program for Team USA in the figure skating team event, according to a U.S. Figure Skating announcement on Wednesday.

Chen is planning two quadruple jumps in the short program, which is set to Benjamin Clementine’s “Nemesis.”

“I feel like I'm a good addition to the team,” Chen said before the announcement, according to a PyeongChang 2018 media release. “Also, we're at the Olympics, we get only one shot on the ice, so to have another shot is like a great experience. It would be good to put the program out there before I get to do the individual.

“I think we have a pretty good shot of getting on the podium.”

Four years ago in Sochi, the U.S. contingent took home a bronze medal in the first-ever figure skating team event.

After his first practice, Chen described what it was like to skate on ice in PyeongChang first the first time at the Games:

“The ice feels awesome. I still have a couple of practices to get my feet under me, but ultimately everything feels good right now.”

The federation also announced Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim, a married pair team, as the skaters in the pairs short program phase of the team event. The two-time national champions are the only U.S. pair in PyeongChang, but have said they don’t find competing four times in the span of a week daunting. The team event opens the Olympic figure skating program, followed by the pairs’ event.

“We’re both really excited being in the team event,” Chris told media on a recent teleconference. “Even if there was another pair team, we would still be doing both of the events. It’s a big opportunity when you go to an Olympics and you get to compete your short and long for a normal Olympics. But now, for the team event, we have the opportunity to compete two more times in front of the world.”

The team event kicks off with the men’s short program and pairs’ short program on Feb. 8 in Primetime on NBC and NBCOlympics.com.